Following the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878, the Treaty of Berlin (1878) - the final act of the Congress of Berlin - was enacted by the United Kingdom, Austria-Hungary, France, Germany, Italy, Russia, and the Ottoman Empire. The treaty recognised the complete independence of the principalities of Romania, Serbia, and Montenegro, and the autonomy of Bulgaria. The three newly independent states subsequently proclaimed themselves kingdoms - Romania in 1881, Serbia in 1882, and Montenegro in 1910 - and in 1908 Bulgaria proclaimed full independence and Austria-Hungary annexed Bosnia, sparking a major European crisis.

Representing the latest scholarship in this field of study, War and Diplomacy documents the proceedings of a conference on the Treaty of Berlin that was held at the University of Utah in 2010. The reorganisation of country borders in central and eastern Europe after the Treaty of Berlin led to the Balkan Wars of 1912 and 1913 and eventually to World War I. During this period the three great empires - Austro-Hungarian, Ottoman, and Russian - were falling apart at the same time that the nation-state in the Balkans was rising. This volume provides an important contribution to understanding the historical background of these events. War and Diplomacy documents the proceedings of the first of three conferences: 1878 Treaty of Berlin (in 2010) Balkan Wars (in 2011) World War I (in 2012) Proceedings of the final two conferences will also be published by the University of Utah Press.